1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electric lamps and particularly to electric HID lamps. More particularly the invention is concerned with HID lamps with reflectors for use in threaded sockets.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
High intensity discharge (HID) lamps can be very efficient with lumen per watt factors of 100 or more. HID lamps can also provide excellent color rendering. Historically HID lamps required separate starting and ballasting equipment and therefore could not be used interchangeably with incandescent lamps in standard sockets. This limited their market use to professional applications, and essentially denied them to the general public that could benefit from the technology. With the advent of circuit miniaturization, ballast and starting circuits have become smaller, but their performance has been affected by ambient operating temperature. HID lamps are known to put out a large amount of heat, and this factor and others have generally kept the starting and ballasting features separate from the lamp body. There is then a need for an integral HID lamp with onboard control circuitry that is unaffected by the heat from an adjacent HID lamp. Because of the high voltages used in integral HID lamps, electrical security has prevented them from being commonly used by consumers. There is a need for an integral HID lamp with little or no safety issues with regard to common uses. There is then a need for an integrated HID lamp that is safe for use in incandescent lamp sockets.